Photo by Andrika Lyons(L-R)Laura Hinkle with son Tyler Hinkle,13 and Cyndi Burnett with son Dan Burnett, 14. Laura and Cyndi work toward the estab­lish­ment of a skate park in Big Rapids, cur­rently plan­ning fundrais­ing for the esti­mated $150,000 — $200,000 project.

The pos­si­bil­ity of a skate park in Big Rapids is still rolling.

After sev­eral city com­mis­sion meet­ings and plans with the City of Big Rapids’ Recreation Department, moth­ers Cyndi Burnett and Laura Hinkle plan to begin fundrais­ing for the city’s first skate park.

The City of Big Rapids, local busi­ness own­ers, and skaters stand behind the idea that started one year ago. Burnett and Hinkle devised skate park plans after their teenage sons Dan Burnett, 14 and Tyler Hinkle, 13, were repeat­edly stopped by city and Ferris State University police for skate boarding.

Skate board­ers, along with BMX bik­ers, are pro­hib­ited from rid­ing on the city side­walks, parks, and the FSU cam­pus, which has had a ban on skate board­ing since 1991.

“Big Rapids has tons of skate board­ers with no out­let for fun,” said Burnett. “These kids need a legit­i­mate place to go with­out get­ting into trouble.”

The Skate Park is esti­mated to cost between $150,000 to $200,000 for con­struc­tion, equip­ment, and labor. Although the city has donated land for this project, the eco­nomic reces­sion hin­ders the city in pro­vid­ing funds for the Skate Park project.

Burnett and Hinkle plan to have sev­eral fundrais­ers, includ­ing a coupon book to be sold in the next com­ing weeks.

“We hope to raise $50,000 on our own so we get more finan­cial sup­port”, said Hinkle. “If we can get more com­mu­nity sup­port, we can begin the grant process.”

Jill Buse, city recre­ation direc­tor, will be set­ting a fundrais­ing account for the project dur­ing the first week of October.

The Tony Hawk Foundation (THF), which pro­vides up to $25,000 of grant money for pub­lic skate parks for low-income areas, is one of the grants the moth­ers are con­sid­er­ing. As of August 2009, THF has 450 grant pro­pos­als, so it is urgent that the Big Rapids Skate Park receives com­mu­nity involve­ment. The moth­ers want to encour­age res­i­dents, stu­dents, and local busi­ness own­ers to donate funds, time, and labor for this project.

The American Ramp Company (ARC) is the pri­mary com­pany the moth­ers plan to use for blue­print designs and equip­ment. ARC, which has been cre­at­ing skate parks world­wide for 20 years, has sev­eral prod­ucts that pro­vide pro­fes­sional and durable skate park equip­ment and designs. Although Burnett and Hinkle are unsure what the park size and equip­ment will be, they are sure that the park will be multi-functional for BMX bik­ers and roller bladers.

The Skate Park is expected to be located near the River Walk on River Street, but loca­tion plans are not yet con­firmed. The park plans to oper­ate like other local parks and will be closed at night.

For more infor­ma­tion about the Skate Park or dona­tions, con­tact Cyndi Burnett or Laura Hinkle at brskatepark@yahoo.com.